Managing Hazardous Waste

THE DANGERS OF
HAZARDOUS WASTE

PRESENTED BY DURALABEL

Infographic Transcription

WHAT IS HAZARDOUS WASTE?
Simply put, hazardous waste is any material that has served its purpose, but still presents a danger to human health or to the environment. Because of this threat, it is important to handle and dispose of hazardous waste carefully.

Types of Hazardous Wastes

• TOXIC WASTE
• CHEMICAL WASTE
• NUCLEAR WASTE
• MEDICAL WASTE

Solvents | Pesticides | Cleaning Agents | Used Electrolytic Fluids… CAN ALL BECOME HAZARDOUS WASTE

THE FOUR POINT APPROACH
The EPA uses a four-question approach for the Hazardous Waste Identification (HWID) process, determining if a given waste falls under their regulations. Based on company that generates a waste is responsible for determining whether that material is a Hazardous Waste. It is important to understand this process.

#1 Is it a Solid Waste?
Don’t let the term mislead you. Liquids and semi-solids, and even some gases, can be considered Solid Wastes under the RCRA. In general, if you have no further use for a material that is still present in your facility, it’s probably a Solid Waste.

In the United States, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) governs all ‘solid wastes,’ and within that group, the EPA is empowered to govern the wastes that are considered Hazardous Wastes. Because of this legal relationship, for a material to be classified as a Hazardous Waste, it must first qualify as a Solid Waste.

Decision:

• NO → Not Hazardous Waste
• YES → proceed to #2

#2 Is it specifically Excluded from RCRA?
There is a list of exclusions, like 40 CFR 261.4. While you’re free to modify under certain circumstances, these exclusions were made to limit burdens on the RCRA and were determined by the EPA to not be Hazardous Waste.

Decision:

• NO → proceed to #3
• YES → Not Hazardous Waste

#3 Is it a Listed Waste?
The EPA maintains four lists of materials that typically qualify as Hazardous Waste. Any material that appears on any of these lists is automatically considered a Hazardous Waste.

Lists shown:

• F-List: non-specific source wastes
• K-List: source-specific wastes
• P-List: discarded commercial chemical products
• U-List: chemical products

Decision:

• YES → Hazardous Waste
• NO → proceed to #4

#4 Is it a Characteristic Waste?
For non-listed hazardous waste not specifically assessed by the EPA, the generator of a material needs to assess its material’s chemical characteristics.

Characteristics shown:

• Ignitable
• Corrosive
• Reactive
• Toxic

Decision:

• YES → Hazardous Waste
• NO → Not Hazardous Waste

CONSEQUENCES OF IMPROPER WASTE HANDLING

MORE THAN 21,000 TONS
OF HAZARDOUS WASTE WERE DISPOSED OF
BETWEEN 1920–1953

Hooker Chemical – Love Canal Landfill – Niagara Falls, New York

The City of Niagara Falls purchased the land in 1953 for $1. Homes & two schools were built on top of the buried toxic waste.

August 7th, 1978 declared a Federal Health Emergency due to Toxic Waste
U.S. President Carter declared the Love Canal neighborhood an emergency and provided funds to permanently relocate the 238 families.

HOW TO IDENTIFY HAZARDOUS WASTE

The first and most important step that you can take is to properly handle your hazardous waste is to:
UNDERSTAND THE RULES THAT APPLY

(The free Industrial Hazardous Waste Management Guide will help you understand what you need to do.)
DuraLabel.info/hazardous

The next step is to:
LABEL YOUR WASTE
This way, everyone in your facility can tell what the waste is, how to handle it, and what to do in case of an accident. Any container holding hazardous waste should be marked with the appropriate label. There are five types of labels used to identify hazardous waste:

• HAZARDOUS WASTE LABELS
  Identify a given container holding chemicals, to meet OSHA HAZCOM regulations.
• DOT HAZARD LABELS
  Identify the types of hazards presented by a material, as needed DOT regulations for transportation.
• VOLUNTARY SAFETY LABELS
  Additional information to promote safety without being specifically required by any regulation (e.g. HazCom 2012 Labels).

DuraLabel Printers and Supplies help you create signs and labels onsite and on-demand.

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